Campus Fire Marshal Kristopher Parsons presented a new campus safety app called UCCS Safe during the semester’s first SGA meeting on Aug. 24.
The app will replace UCCS’ current safety app, Rave Guardian, and will have built-in features unique to UCCS. Parsons thinks this will make the app more recognizable and widely known throughout the student population.
“Over the last year, we have had 30 uses of Guardian, so we’re paying a lot of money for something that’s not being used. I am hoping that people use UCCS Safe, so we can get a lot more accurate representation of what is happening on campus,” Parsons said.
One of the app’s features will allow students to request that the campus police track their location as they walk across campus. Parson said that students can also opt to have a family member or friend track them.
“The Friend Safety Walk will be a friend or family member that can live track you as you walk, but the UCCS Police one will notify police dispatch and track you. You’re not on the phone or anything, but every 10 seconds or so, your ping updates, and it shows your trail,” Parsons said.
If you do not arrive at your destination after a certain amount of time, campus police will call you to make sure you are okay, and they will go to your phone’s pinged location if you do not respond.
The app will also allow students to call or chat with the UCCS Police and report an incident. Students can also report incidents anonymously through an in-app form.
Parsons noted that the app will include a campus map and provide information on emergency procedures, health and safety services and training on how to use things like fire extinguishers.
The app is set to release on Sept. 15, but the release date could be pushed back depending on how long it takes for the app to be approved in app stores and by campus leadership.
In Other News:
- SGA confirmed Benjamin Moses as the new Senator of Multicultural Affairs. Moses wants to bridge the gap between the senate and student life. He hopes to achieve this by investing time and resources into UCCS’ clubs and organizations.
- SGA confirmed Lisa Ward as an SGA justice. Ward, who was a senator in the past, believes she can use her previous experience to shape an objective perspective within SGA that holds everyone accountable.
- Senator-at-Large Aiyanna Quinones has been elected as the new speaker of the senate with Senator-at-Large Carson Hodges as the speaker pro tempore.
First UCCS safety app called Rave Guardian. Photo from facebook.com/UniversityOfColoradoColoradoSprings.